Origami Stair
The Origami stair is an elegant example of an idea materialized, tested, implemented, and documented through an intimate collaboration only made possible through technological advancements including 3D modeling, 3D printing, computational geometry, digital manufacturing, and finally, digital photography. From inception to completion, the owner, the architect, the engineer, and the craftsman, Caliper Fabrications, were collaboratively engaged in the development and execution of the object and the objective. The design of this CPW apartment began with a simple idea articulated by the team to manifest lightness literally and symbolically. The stair owes its form to its distinctive unidirectional cantilevered tread, which tapers as the deflection forces diminish at its outermost limits. The structural logic of folding was mobilized to minimize the amount of material used, open the tread bed for its glass insert, and reveal the stair's expressive "wing" shape. Thus, a very complex assembly was rendered with the utmost simplicity.
